Bucs Use Small Ball Attack & Clutch Pitching To Top Brew Crew 7-2; Keone Hurt

Chad Kuhl spun a calm first frame; the Bucs got a J-Bell walk off Adrian Houser. In the second, Whip got head of Ben Gamel 0-2, worked the count even and then served up a slider that was sent over the fence. Bryan Adams answered by sailing a long fly into the RF stands to open the Pirates half. Tuck singled with a out and was forced by Fraze, who ended the inning with a caught stealing. A third inning walk didn't hurt Chad. Pittsburgh went down 1-2-3, even with the gift of a dropped foul pop. With an out in the fourth (a snazzy grab by B-Rey to deny Christian Yelich), the Brew Crew put together a walk and a knock before Kuhl worked his way out of it. Then came a Bucco outburst - five straight singles (two were of the infield variety) and a throwaway led to three runs before an out was recorded and a double play ended it before it could turn it into a really big inning. A walk and three bouncers were Milwaukee's answer in the fifth while the Pirates returned to regular programming.

Nice to have ya back, B-Rey - image Pittsburgh Pirates

Whip was pulled after 84 pitches for Sam Howard in the sixth, and with two gone a single and two free passes set up the Brew Crew. That brought on Geoff Hartlieb, who held the Brewers at bay. Captain Redbeard opened with a rap to no avail. Hartlieb worked a quiet seventh. John Ryan Murphy's rap was the all the Pirates noise. Ric Rod gave up a leadoff bomb to Yelich in the eighth to tighten it to 4-2, then recovered nicely. The Pirates came right back against Alex Claudio; J-Bell dropped a looper into right and Redbeard bunted his way aboard, both scoring on B-Rey's triple. An out later, he plated on Tuck's rap. Fraze singled him to third and a short wild pitch moved Adam up 90', but Claudio left them aboard. Keone Kela gave up a knock and then left the game, ho boy. Tyler Bashlor got the Shelty wave, fed a 3-6 DP ball (yes, Colin Moran was at first) to Brock Holt followed by another grounder, and the Bucs snapped their four-game schneid. Raise the Roger.

The Buccos rode 12 singles and B-Rey's homer/triple to score some runs tonight, and Reynold's catching on fire would be a godsend. The pitching staved off the Brewers when it was needed; they only gave up five hits, but matched that with five walks, and even with some nice plays in the field, still added two errors. Hopefully a win like this may sweep away the mental cobwebs that had to be forming around the players and let them loosen up.

Notes:

• B-Rey had three hits, as did Redbeard and Tuck; J-Bell added two more. The pitching is slowly coming around; now for the sticks to catch up...
• Keone told the trainer he had some tightness in his forearm; he didn't ask to come out, but with the rash of injuries to Bucco hurlers, Shelty made the decision for him. Guess we'll find out tomorrow if it's serious.
• The Pirates a 7-of-14 in stolen base efforts. Last year, they were 64-of-93, a steal rate of .688. 
• Nice pregame touch: the Pirates had a vid salute for Brew Crew skipper Craig Counsell, who turned 50 today.
• The MLB announced that the postponements against the Reds will be made up as twin bills in September.